Case Number 25335: Small Claims Court

WHAT WILL THE FUTURE BE LIKE?

The Charge

The technologies that will transform our lives decades from now.

The Case

Let's start with a bit of background. The Emmy-winning PBS program
Nova has been on the air for decades, devoting itself to exploring
different scientific subjects in each new installment. It's a consistently
engaging program, but apparently there were some who felt the whole thing was
just a little too...well, slow. And so, the companion program Nova
scienceNOW (complete with hip, unconventional use of capital and lowercase
letters!) was born. The first season was hosted by Robert Krulwich, but he was
quickly replaced by Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson. Under Tyson's reign, the
newsmagazine-style show was an appealing piece of lightweight edutainment, with
the host's thoughtful queries adding moments of real substance to each episode.
Now, Tyson has been replaced with the bouncy David Pogue, and the show feels
much different as a result.

To be sure, Nova scienceNOW is still a likable show, but the tone has
changed considerably. While Tyson was a fairly low-key presence, Pogue is more
or less a living cartoon character. As he encounters a host of technological
developments, he does wacky double-takes, mugs for the camera incessantly and
leaps at any opportunity to goof around with the assorted newfangled devices
he's introduced to. This approach could have been pretty obnoxious in the wrong
hands, but Pogue pulls it off thanks to his earnest charm. The show leans
heavier on the entertainment side of things than ever before, but there are
still some juicy tidbits.

The first portion of the installment included on this disc (What Will the
Future Be Like?) focuses on robots, as a handful of scientists attempt to
explain why it's just so difficult to get a human-sized robot to walk naturally
(or at all). It would seem like a fairly simple problem given some of the many
other complex tasks robots can handle, but walking remains a major hurdle.
There's also some discussion about the role robots might play in terms of caring
for seniors and children in the future, and the challenges that need to be
overcome before that can be a reality. Another segment focuses on wearable
robots that might make it much easier for a human to carry massive amounts of
equipment (something that could be quite useful for firefighters or members of
the military).

The most fascinating section of the documentary comes during its final
segment, as Pogue speaks to a video game designer who has found a way to use
games to find solutions for complex medical problems. Through the creation of a
game called "Fold It," the designer and the game's many players
managed to make a major breakthrough in the search for an AIDS cure in just
three weeks. While it's a bit more complicated than curing cancer by leveling up
in Skyrim, that could essentially be where we're headed if designers can
continue to find ways to fuse practical problem-solving with entertainment.

What Will the Future Be Like? has received a strong standard-def
transfer, offering sturdy detail throughout. There's a bit of talking head
footage, but there are also a lot of interesting visuals as we get an
opportunity to witness a variety of robotic devices in action (a little
wide-eyed robot named Darwin is the most adorable thing ever). The Dolby 2.0
Stereo track is perfectly adequate for the documentary's purposes, delivering
the dialogue, bits of sound design and the snappy score with clarity. No
supplements are featured on the disc.

Nova scienceNOW may be a different show under Robert Pogue's
leadership, but it's still a charming and informative way to spend an hour. This
installment is certainly worth checking out.